News and events

Call for Applications

Summer School:  Conflicts and Changes in Eastern Europe and Eurasia

The International Network in Russian, Eastern European and Eurasian Studies (INREES) welcomes PhD candidates working in the field of social sciences and humanities to a five-day intensive course in Cultural Center Sofia, Helsinki on 19 – 23 August 2024                       

The beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 changed the global security situation and has influenced the domestic politics and foreign policy of many countries in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Beyond such an invasion, there is an aggravation of many ongoing ethnic, religious, and other conflicts, which may not have received as much international attention. This dynamics was perceived by many observers as unexpected and therefore reminds us of the need to pay attention also to the less conspicuous, gradual changes that shape states, societies, and international arenas, and contribute to many conflicts in the region of Eastern Europe and Eurasia and beyond it. These and other issues will be in the focus of INREES Summer School 2024. We invite you to participate in the Summer School for doctoral researchers from various disciplines, including but not limited to, political science, history, sociology, and anthropology to discuss political, societal and cultural trends in Eastern Europe, Russia and Eurasia.

The INREES Summer School 2024 contains lectures and workshops in which the doctoral researchers will present a paper that can be a draft of an article or a chapter of their dissertation.

Teachers:

• Ammon Cheskin, University of Glasgow
• Dmitrii Dogorov, Södertörn University
• Vladimir Gel’man, University of Helsinki
• Yulia Kurnyshova, University of Copenhagen
• Andrey Makarychev, University of Tartu
• Sari Autio-Sarasmo, University of Helsinki
• Susanne Schattenberg, University of Bremen
• Margarita Zavaskaya, Finnish Institute for International Affairs

The intensive course consists of lectures, thematic panels and workshops in which doctoral students have the opportunity to get comments on their papers. The papers can be research plans, chapters from dissertations or article drafts. Additionally, PhD students will have a chance to improve their pedagogical skills by commenting on Russian and Eurasian Studies MA students’ research plans.

The summer school will cover the costs of accommodation, meals and transportation from the University of Helsinki to Cultural Center Sofia and back:  https://www.sofia.fi/en/. The venue is accessible by wheelchair.

The course requirements for 5 ECTS (evaluation accepted/rejected):

•                    Presenting a paper in the summer school

•                    Active participation at lectures and workshops

Please send your applications with an abstract (max 300 words) of your paper, your affiliation and contact information by 15 May 2024 through the link below. The notification of acceptance will be sent by 30 May. In the acceptance letter, we will also ask you to fill in a form regarding practicalities, accessibility, and preferences, in addition to providing further information about the summer school.

https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/129334/lomake.html

For more information, you can contact project planner Maija Harju (maija.r.harju[at]helsinki.fi) or the coordinator of the INREES Kaarina Aitamurto (Kaarina.aitamurto[at]helsinki.fi)

INTERNATIONAL NETWORK IN RUSSIAN, EAST EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN STUDIES (INREES) FEL¬LOW¬SHIP PROGRAMME

The International Network in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies (INREES) invites currently enrolled postgraduate students affiliated with a Finnish university to apply for a 2-month visiting fellowship at the University of Bremen, the University of Södertörn or the University of Tartu in fall 2024.

The INREES programme gives an opportunity for three Finnish early-stage researchers to have a two-month research visit. The multidisciplinary INREES programme provides the visiting fellows a unique opportunity to gather material, write their on-going research projects and produce new scholarly outputs. These fellowships may also launch new scholarly ventures and research projects in collaboration with partners and colleagues from our partner universities.

Funding period: September – December 2024
Deadline for applications: 27 March 2024
Notification of acceptance: 30 April 2024

Application documents:
1. Motivation letter: To what university or universities is the applicant applying to, how applicant’s research would benefit from the visit
2. Research plan (max. 4,000 words, including the list of references)
3. CV

Successful applicants will be provided with a monthly scholarship of €2,400 (travel and accommodation are covered from the scholarship) Travel, accommodation and health insurance coverage are to be arranged by prospective fellows themselves, but the programme can
provide help with these.
INREES fellows are expected to consult with the researchers and possible hosts at the receiving university and to participate in relevant seminars and courses.

Applications should be sent to kaarina.aitamurto@helsinki.fi with the reference to INREES in the subject line of email letter.





For more information on the INREES and the Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, please see the websites:

https://blogs.helsinki.fi/inrees-research/news-and-events/
https://www.helsinki.fi/en/aleksanteri-institute

You can also contact the following persons:

University of Helsinki: Kaarina Aitamurto, University lecturer, coordinator of the INREES project, Aleksanteri Institute, Kaarina.aitamurto@helsinki.fi

University of Helsinki: Vladimir Gel’man, Professor, Aleksanteri Institute, vladimir.gelman@helsinki.fi

University of Bremen: Heiko Pleines, Vice Director, Research Centre for East European
Studies at the University of Bremen, pleines@uni-bremen.de

Södertörn University: Yulia Gradskova, Research Coordinator, Center for Baltic and East European Studies, Södertörn University, Sweden yulia.gradskova@sh.se


University of Tartu: Andrey Makarychev, Professor of Regional Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies, andrey.makarychev@ut.ee

Call for Applications

Summer School:  Challenging Theories and Reconsidering Paradigms

The International Network in Russian, Eastern European and Eurasian Studies (INREES) welcomes PhD candidates working in the field of social sciences and humanities to a five-day intensive course in Vähäjärvi on 28 August – 1 September 2023                            

There are many ways to understand ‘theory,’ but few would disagree that theories are an integral part of all scholarly study. Theory building is cumulative and doctoral dissertations are both drawing on previous literature and challenging it. However, revisiting old approaches seems particularly emergent in times of turmoil. In Russian, Eurasian and Easter European Studies, Russia’s war on Ukraine has called scholars to reconsider the theories we have used and to critically reflect on dominant paradigms.

The INREES Summer School 2023 contains lectures on theoretical approaches and choices in area studies. In the workshops, the doctoral researchers will present a paper that can be a draft of an article or a chapter from their dissertation.

Teachers:

• • Luca Anceschi, University of Glasgow
  • Sari Autio-Sarasmo, University of Helsinki
  • Vladimir Gel’man, University of Helsinki
  • Yulia Gradskova, Södertörn University
  • Andrey Makarychev, University of Tartu
  • Svetlana Erpyleva, Public Sociology Laboratory, University of Bremen

The intensive course consists of lectures, thematic panels and workshops in which doctoral students have the opportunity to get comments on their papers. The papers can be research plans, chapters from dissertations or article drafts. Additionally, PhD students will have a chance to improve their pedagogical skills by commenting on Russian Studies MA students’ research plans.

The summer school will cover the costs of accommodation, meals and transportation from Helsinki to Vähäjärvi, Hämeenlinna: http://www.vahajarvi.fi/ 

The course requirements for 5 ECTS (evaluation accepted/rejected):

• • • Presenting a paper in the summer school
    • Active participation at lectures and workshops

Please send your applications with an abstract (max 300 words) of your paper, your affiliation and contact information by 27 May 2023 through the link below. The notification of the acceptance will be sent by 2 June.

https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/124131/lomake.html

For more information, you can contact project planner Yuliya Brin (yuliya.brin@helsinki.fi) or the coordinator of the INREES Kaarina Aitamurto (Kaarina.aitamurto@helsinki.fi )

Call for Applications

Methodological choices and challenges in the study of Russia, Eurasia and Eastern Europe

The International Network in Russian, Eastern European and Eurasian Studies (INREES) welcomes PhD students working in the field of social sciences and humanities to the three-day spring school at the University of Tartu on 7 – 10 March 2023

Area studies is a multidisciplinary field of research and area studies scholars apply a myriad of quantitative and qualitative methods. These methods are connected to different epistemological positions thus also offering answers to different kinds of questions.  INREES spring school invites area studies scholars and doctoral candidates to discuss methodological choices in the study of Russia, Eurasia, and Eastern Europe. During the lectures and workshops, the scholars can discuss how the information, viewpoints, and insights that are attained with different methods can be brought into a dialogue. In addition, the INREEES spring school offers the opportunity to reflect on the new methodological challenges that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created. How to find reliable information during the war, especially in authoritarian countries with strict censorship? When many sources are no more available, what kind of innovative solutions can scholars find?

The spring school contains lectures from experts in different methods. In addition, there will be three workshops on digital research / quantitative methods, archival work, and discourse analysis. Before spring school, the participants are asked to send a one-page paper about their methodological choices in their research project for the workshops. The spring school will take care of the costs for accommodation, meals, and transportation from Helsinki to Tartu.

The speakers of the Spring school are:

• Luca Anceschi, University of Glasgow
• Sari Autio-Sarasmo, University of Helsinki
• Ammon Cheskin, University of Glasgow
• Vladimir Gel’man, University of Helsinki
• Yulia Gradskova, Södertörn University
• Andrey Makarychev, University of Tartu
• Julia Malitska, Södertörn University
• Svetlana Erpyleva, Public Sociology Laboratory, University of Bremen

Please send your applications with an abstract (max 500 words) of your doctoral research project, your affiliation, and contact information by 25 January, 2023 through the following link:

https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/121463/lomake.html

Notification of acceptance will be sent by 31 January 2023. For more information, you can contact the coordinator of the INREES Kaarina Aitamurto (Kaarina.aitamurto@helsinki.fi )

More about the INREES project: https://blogs.helsinki.fi/inrees-research/

The International Network of Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (INREES) invites currently enrolled postgraduate students affiliated with the University of Tartu, University of Bremen, University of Glasgow, and Södertörn University to apply for a 2-month visiting fellowship at the Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki for the year 2023.

The Aleksanteri Institute is one of the largest multidisciplinary centers in the field of Russian and Eastern European studies. The Institute’s research is embedded within international scholarly networks, and it functions as a hub and catalyst of networks of people and ideas across the globe. For the postgraduate student, the Aleksanteri Institute offers an international academic environment and active research community.

The multidisciplinary INREES program provides the visiting fellows a unique opportunity for writing-up their on-going research projects and producing new scholarly outputs. The grant is 2,400 euros per month. The Aleksanteri Institute will offer a workspace for the selected candidate and the visitor will have an academic host/ supervisor. There is one grant for doctoral researchers from each of our partner universities for the visit to Helsinki.

Funding period: January – December 2023
Deadline for applications: 30 November 2022
Notification of acceptance: 20 December 2022

Application documents:
1. Motivation letter: Statement on how visiting period in Helsinki would benefit applicant’s doctoral research (one page)
2. CV
3. Research plan (max. 4,000 words with the list of references)

The successful applicant will be provided with a monthly scholarship of €2,400 (travel and accommodation are covered from the scholarship). Travel, accommodation and health insurance coverage are to be arranged by prospective fellows themselves, but the programme can provide help with these.

Applications should be sent to yuliya.brin@helsinki.fi with the reference to INREES in the subject line of the email.
For more information on the INREES and the Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, please see the websites: https://blogs.helsinki.fi/inrees-research/news-and-events/ & https://www.helsinki.fi/en/aleksanteri-institute

You can also contact with one of the following persons:

University of Bremen:
Heiko Pleines, Head of the Dept. of Politics and Economics, Vice Director of the Research Centre for East European Studies, pleines@uni-bremen.de

University of Glasgow:
Luca Anceschi, Professor of Eurasian Studies, Luca.Anceschi@glasgow.ac.uk

University of Tartu:
Andrey Makarychev, Professor of Regional Political Studies, andrey.makarychev@ut.ee

Södertörn University:
Florence Fröhlig, Director of Studies of the Baltic and East European Graduate School (BEEGS), florence.frohlig@sh.se

University of Helsinki:
Kaarina Aitamurto, Head of research training, Aleksanteri Institute,  Kaarina.aitamurto@helsinki.fi
Vladimir Gel’man, Professor, Aleksanteri Institute, vladimir.gelman@helsinki.fi
Yuliya Brin, Project planner, yuliya.brin@helsinki.fi

The International Network in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies (INREES) invites currently enrolled postgraduate students affiliated with a Finnish university to apply for a 2-month visiting fellowship at the University of Bremen, the University of Glasgow, the University of Södertörn or the University of Tartu in fall 2023.

The INREES programme gives an opportunity for four young Finnish early-stage researchers to have a two-month research visit. The multidisciplinary INREES programme provides the visiting fellows a unique opportunity to gather material, write their on-going research projects and produce new scholarly outputs. These fellowships may also launch new scholarly ventures and research projects in collaboration with partners and colleagues from our partner universities.

Funding period: January – December 2023
Deadline for applications: 30 November 2022
Notification of acceptance: 20 December 2022

Application documents:
1. Motivation letter: To what university is the applicant applying to, how applicant’s research would benefit from the visit, with whom the applicant would like to collaborate or have as a supervisor during the visit
2. Research plan (max. 4,000 words, including the list of references)
3. CV

Successful applicants will be provided with a monthly scholarship of €2,400 (travel and accommodation are covered from the scholarship) Travel, accommodation and health insurance coverage are to be arranged by prospective fellows themselves, but the programme can provide help with these.

INREES fellows are expected to consult with the researchers and possible hosts at the receiving university and to participate in relevant seminars and courses.

Applications should be sent to yuliya.brin@helsinki.fi with the reference to INREES in the subject line of the email.
For more information on the INREES and the Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, please see the websites: https://blogs.helsinki.fi/inrees-research/news-and-events/ & https://www.helsinki.fi/en/aleksanteri-institute

You can also contact with one of the following persons:
Kaarina Aitamurto, Head of research training, Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Kaarina.aitamurto@helsinki.fi
Vladimir Gel’man, Professor, Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, vladimir.gelman@helsinki.fi
Yuliya Brin, Project planner, yuliya.brin@helsinki.fi

University of Bremen:
Heiko Pleines, Head of the Dept. of Politics and Economics, Vice Director of the Research Centre for East European Studies, pleines@uni-bremen.de

University of Glasgow:
Luca Anceschi, Professor of Eurasian Studies, Luca.Anceschi@glasgow.ac.uk

University of Tartu:
Andrey Makarychev, Professor of Regional Political Studies, andrey.makarychev@ut.ee

Södertörn University:
Florence Fröhlig, Director of Studies of the Baltic and East European Graduate School (BEEGS), florence.frohlig@sh.se

INREES summer School 2022 took place in August at Vähäjarvi on the topic of Reorienting research projects and area studies after 24 February 2022. The International Network in Russian, Eastern European and Eurasian Studies (INREES) welcomed doctoral researchers working in the field of social sciences and humanities to the five-day intensive course from 22-25 August.

The week was filled with esteemed guests such as Yulia Gradskova, Andrey Makarychev, Vladimir Gelman, Margarita Zavadskaya, Sari Autio-Sarasmo, Kristiina Silvan, Heiko Pleines and Luca Aneschi presenting on topics such as Women´s rights, making sense of data during wartime, Russian Studies in Search of New Vocabularies, using secondary data in original research.

The participants got a unique opportunity to take part in workshops on pedagogy, life post-PhD, and a very informative session on publishing. The researcher got to present their ideas on these important topics in groups and work together to get to the heart of these issues. The most challenging and fruitful part of this summer school were the workshops where the participants shared their research and got important feedback from their peers and our special guests. Here they got a unique look into what could be enhanced in their research papers to get optimal results and move on to publication of their work.

The summer school was not all business: we did get a chance to unwind. We went on a mindfulness walk in the forest, spent time together in the evening singing karaoke and playing billiard. Overall, our participant really enjoyed the intense week with us. They were left with great discussions, suggestions, and a supportive atmosphere to keep pursuing their important research! We hope to see them again next year, along with new faces in our next summer school in 2023!

Call for Applications

Summer School:  Reorienting research projects and area studies after 24 February 2022

The International Network in Russian, Eastern European and Eurasian Studies (INREES) welcomes PhD students working in the field of social sciences and humanities to the five-day intensive course in Vähäjärvi, Hämeenlinna on 22 – 26 August 2022

Course description

24 February 2022 has dramatically changed the lives of millions of people and the global political order. Within the scholars of the Russian, Eastern Europe and Eurasia Studies (REEES) it has also raised many question that will be discussed in this summer school:

• How to reconfigure research projects and publications that may seem to have quickly turned outdated amidst the rapid political changes?
• Did the REEES scholars become surprised by the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and why?
• What is the future of the Russian, Eastern Europe and Eurasia area studies?
• How is conducting research possible in the emerging situation but also, are there some new horizons and need for new kind of collaboration?

The summer school provides a platform for constructive discussions to reconfigure personal research plans and to reflect on the situation and the futures prospects for the Russian, Eastern Europe and Eurasia area studies.

The speakers of the summer school are:

• Luca Anceschi (University of Glasgow)
• Sari Autio-Sarasmo (University of Helsinki)
• Vladimir Gel’man (University of Helsinki)
• Yulia Gradskova (Södertörn University)
• Andrey Makarychev (University of Tartu)
• Heiko Pleines (University of Bremen)
• Margarita Zavadskaya (University of Helsinki)

The intensive course consists of lectures, thematic panels and workshops in which doctoral students have the opportunity to get comments on their papers. The papers can be research plans, chapters from dissertations or article drafts. The PhD students will have a chance to improve their pedagogical skills by commenting on Russian Studies MA students’ research plans.

Please note:

The summer school will take care of the costs for accommodation, meals and transportation from Helsinki to Vähäjärvi, Hämeenlinna: http://www.vahajarvi.fi/

The course requirements for 5 ECTS (evaluation accepted/rejected):

• Presenting a paper in the summer school
• Active participation at lectures and workshops

Please send your applications with an abstract (max 300 words) of your paper, your affiliation and contact information by 27 May 2022 through the following link: https://forms.office.com/r/dHpW3V3iHZ

For more information, you can contact project planner Alisa Virtanen or the coordinator of the INREES Kaarina Aitamurto (Email to name.surname@helsinki.fi)

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

The International Network of Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (INREES) invites doctoral students affiliated with the European University at St.Petersburg (EUSP) and with St.Petersburg campus of the Higher School of Economics (HSE SPB) to apply for 1-2 months visiting fellowship at the Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki for the year 2022.

The Aleksanteri Institute is one of the largest multidisciplinary centers in the field of Russian and Eastern European studies. The Institute’s research is embedded within international scholarly networks and it functions as a hub and a catalyst of networks of people and ideas across the globe. For doctoral students the Aleksanteri Institute offers international academic environment and active research community. The multidisciplinary INREES program provides the visiting fellows a unique opportunity to writing-up of their on-going research projects and produce new scholarly outputs. These fellowships may also to launch new scholarly ventures and research projects in collaboration with partners and colleagues from Finland.

Funding period: from May to December 2022 (except for the period of 20 June – 5 August 2022)

Deadline for applications: 31 January 2022

Notification of acceptance: by 15 February 2022

Application documents:

1.  Motivation letter: Statement on how visiting period in Helsinki would benefit applicant’s doctoral research (one page)
2. Recommendation from the supervisor: short description (one page), signed by dissertation supervisor on applicant’s studies and the status of the dissertation project regarding its writing-up stage
3. Brief description of the content of the research (up to 600 words)
4. Table of content for the dissertation (including the statement about the current state of affairs with regard to degree of preparedness of different parts of the dissertation at the moment of application)
5. Publications on the basis of the dissertation project (including manuscripts officially accepted for publication)
6. Preferred dates of visit to Helsinki

Applications should be send to Alisa Virtanen (alisa.virtanen@helsinki.fi) with the reference to INREES in the subject line of email letter.

For more information on the INREES and the Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, please see the websites:
https://blogs.helsinki.fi/inrees-research/news-and-events/ https://www.helsinki.fi/en/aleksanteri-institute

You can also contact with one of the following persons:

• Kaarina Aitamurto, research coordinator, Aleksanteri Institute (kaarina.aitamurto@helsinki.fi)
• Vladimir Gel’man, professor, University of Helsinki and EUSP (vladimir.gelman@helsinki.fi)
• Anna Tarasenko, docent, HSE SPB; visiting researcher, Aleksanteri Institute (anna.tarasenko@helsinki.fi)